Tobacco Road (song)
(UK) (US) | format = 7" | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = | label = Decca (UK) London (US) | writer = John D. Loudermilk | producer = Mickie Most | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = Google Eye | next_year = 1964 }} | genre = | label = | writer = John D. Loudermilk | producer = Jerry Goldstein | prev_title = Spill the Wine | prev_year = 1970 | next_title = Paint It Black | next_year = 1971 }} "Tobacco Road" is a blues song written and first recorded by John D. Loudermilk in 1960 that was a hit for The Nashville Teens in 1964 and has since become a standard across several musical genres. Loudermilk original Originally framed as a folk song, "Tobacco Road" was a semi-autobiographical tale of growing up in Durham, North Carolina. Released on Columbia Records, it was not a hit for Loudermilk, achieving only minor chart success in Australia. Other artists, however, immediately began recording and performing the song. Nashville Teens hit The English group The Nashville Teens' garage rock /blues rock rendering was a bold effort featuring prominent piano, electric guitar, and bass drum parts and a dual lead vocal. Mickie Most produced it with the same tough-edged-pop feel that he brought to The Animals' hits. "Tobacco Road" was a trans-Atlantic pop hit in 1964, reaching number 6 on the UK singles chart and number 14 on the U.S. singles chart. While the Teens would have some further success in the UK, in the U.S. "Tobacco Road" became another one-hit wonder of the British Invasion. Later versions and uses In the 1970s, songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman claimed to have been inspired by "Tobacco Road" while writing The Sweet's "Blockbuster", after accusations of stealing the guitar riff from David Bowie's "Jean Genie". The song became a hit for Edgar Winter on his debut album Entrance and he plays a 17-minute live version of the song on the double LP Roadwork from 1972. "Tobacco Road" has been performed by a great number of other artists, often with slightly altered lyrics. Notable renderings include a soul one from Lou Rawls, a folk rock one from Jefferson Airplane on their debut album Takes Off, a lengthy 17-minute version by Edgar Winter's White Trash, a sample on dead prez's Psychology, and others from Eric Burdon & War, Spooky Tooth, Status Quo, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Steve Young, Love Affair, Shocking Blue, David Lee Roth, Aum, Tommy Cash, Blues Magoos, Blues Creation, Bobbie Gentry, Rare Earth, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Mud, Mind Garage, an unreleased version by Jimi Hendrix, Southern Culture on the Skids, Serbian rock bands Smak and Discipline A Kitschme, and so on. It has been done as blues, country music, punk rock, or garage rock. In 2006 it was featured in the finale of the hit television show American Idol, and was performed on the show by contestant Phil Stacey in 2007 and Syesha Mercado in 2008. In the late 1960s, the song became a staple of the Jackson 5's early shows, and was one of the four songs they performed at their audition for Motown Records in 1968. On 1 February 1966, Lou Rawls performed the song as a medley with "Southside Blues", which was included on his album Live!. In 1967, Eric Burdon & The Animals recorded it for a German TV show but it was not broadcast. In 1970 it was an Atlantic hit by Eric Burdon & War. This version runs for 14 minutes. Later, after they disbanded, they released another version featured on many compilations. Eric Burdon released some live recordings on "Access All Areas", "Official Live Bootleg #2", "Athens Traffic Live". An 11-minute live version from the early 1980s was released later. Serbian super-group Smak played a 15 minute version of this song during their concerts in late seventies, in Eric Burdon style. In 1992 they held concerts in Belgrade and recorded and released their 12-minutes version on odLIVEno. Roy Clark included the song on his 1986 album Rockin' in the Country. His version peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. "Tobacco Road" was also recorded by Hank Williams Jr. on his 1995 album Hog Wild. Paul Revere & The Raiders also recorded a "remix" of this song for their compilation CD The Legend of Paul Revere released May 6, 1990. Tennessee rockers Every Mother's Nightmare included the song on their 1993 Arista Records release, Wake Up Screaming. Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle included the song on their 2016 duo album Colvin & Earle. David Bowie refers to "Tobacco Road" in "Dirty Boys" on his album The Next Day. References External links * Loudermilk fan site - extensive history of song and recorded versions. * Category:1960 songs Category:1964 singles Category:1970 singles Category:British garage rock songs Category:British blues rock songs Category:Eric Burdon songs Category:War (American band) songs Category:David Lee Roth songs Category:Roy Clark songs Category:North Carolina in fiction Category:Songs written by John D. Loudermilk Category:Song recordings produced by Jerry Goldstein (producer) Category:Song recordings produced by Mickie Most Category:Songs about poverty Category:Decca Records singles Category:London Records singles